Ask an Expert

Q:How much wind can Canadian solar panels take with the attached ground mounds? Living in Southern California we get some heavy Santa Ana winds, want to make sure my structure is strong and items will not fly off or fall apart.

A:

Wind in and of itself is not going to damage your home solar panels. The major concern for damage usually is a hail storm. If large enough and travelling at a high speed, a hail ball can damage a solar panel.  Another threat to your solar panel system may be high winds, but how vulnerable your home solar panel system is will depend on your racking system and the design of your system.

04-17-2013 by Bryan Category: Solar Panels

Q:What would be the best solar panels to use on the ground not on rough? is there any diagram that helps me to install my own solar panels. I need 1000 watts per month. so 240 watt panel versus 220 watt, which one would be better? and how many do I need? thank you

A:

There are many options for installing home solar panels on the ground to achieve 1kw of power. You can go with a single row of five, which will give you about 1200 watt of power with 240w solar panels or 1100 watt of power with 220w solar panels. An alternative approach may be to go with a pole mount system to secure the five solar panels. Mounting solar panels with a ground mount or pole mount will both require ground work done outside. This will ensure that the solar panels are safely secured on your property. You can compensate for wind load by using ground mounts or pole mounts specifically designed to meet the requirements in your area. There are manufacturers that manufacture high quality ground mounts and pole mounts for commercial and residential solar energy systems. Feel free to visit SolarTown for more information on solar racking solutions and other solar products.

03-15-2013 by paul Category: Solar Panels

Q:I would like to buy a kit or the materials to power three 45 watt led grow panels could you please point me in the right direction

A:

A 45 watt Grow Light requires approximately 45 watts of power per hour unless otherwise stated in the manual or technical characteristics of the light. Like any outdoor solar light or equipment to be powered with solar panels, you will have to determine the run time of your application on a daily basis. The actually run time multiplied by the amount of power of the Solar Grow Light will give you the numbers you need to calculate how many solar panels you will need to buy. If the LED solar lights are DC then your configuration will be easier because you will not necessary need a solar inverter. In the event the Solar Grow Lights are AC then you will need an inverter so that you can convert DC to AC. Feel free to visit SolarTown's solar panels section or inverters section to compare different home solar panels and inverters that will work for your off grid system.

02-01-2013 by randy Category: Solar Lights and Garden

Q:I've got a 6X12 enclosed trailer that I's like to use as a kind of mobile workshop. I move around a lot so this would be perfect, for my DIY projects. I was thinking of a project to install a solar panel to charge some kind of battery bank, inside the trailer. I'd like to just be able to run power tools, lights, and perhaps some music. I have no idea how to get started, I could really use a point in the right direction and maybe a idea at what I'm in for. Thank you.

A:

There are several approaches to take to add home solar panels to your trailer, RV or off grid application. Since we know the dimensions of your roof, you can go with 3 or 4 solar panels where the modules are orientated in landscape running across the top, the longest length of the solar panel running toward the 6ft length of the roof. The solar panels can then be installed 3 or 4 panels next to each other running the remaining 12ft span.

You'll need to purchase clamps designed for RVs, trailers etc to safely secure the modules on your roof. You can visit SolarTown to buy the solar panel that will fit with your off grid application. Just keep in mind there are other options for what it is you are doing. For example, adding arm brackets and angle arms to that you can create a frame to add even more modules. Feel free to contact SolarTown Customer Service for any questions you may have.

01-28-2013 by Alexis P Category: Solar Electronics

Q:I have solar stake lights along my driveway. Unfortunately previous owner put dirt flower beds along side of new driveway over the old concrete driveway instead of removing. Some of my stake lights do not have enough dirt to hold them upright on the old concrete. Are there some kind of collars or weighted bases that I could use to hold them upright? I can not make a hole large enough in the conmcrete to insert the stake but I could use concrete screws to attach a collar or plate to insert the solar light stake into. Do they make a product for this purpose?

A:

Outdoor solar lights are sold by SolarTown for a variety of pathways and driveways. For your application, first you want to measure the depth of the top soil. A rough estimate will be fine. With that measurement you can then choose a solar light that can be imbedded within those parameters. Solar Lights come in different lengths and weight, if the soil is not that deep you can use a smaller solar light which normally will be lighter and require less depth to secure properly. If there is concrete below the soil, you can always use a hammer drill and anchor the solar light in place. Solar landscape lights physical characteristics will vary but if it is relatively light you can use a small 5/16 or 1/4 inch anchor because they require a smaller hole drilled into the concrete and the anchor types are relatively easy to install. Feel free to visit SolarTown's outdoor solar lights to determine which light works best for your application or contact us for any questions you may have.

01-13-2013 by Robin R Category: Solar Lights and Garden

Q:How much power does a 120 watt solar panel produce in 1 hour?

A:

A 120 watt solar panel for your home is not going to provide you with much juice at all. Most home solar panels have at least twice the capacity, but if you have an off grid application and you need a 12 volt panel, SolarTown sells both a crystalline panel that is 140 watts and several thin film solar modules that have even lower wattages. The key question is how much output you can expect from each of these panels, and it depends on many factors such as the angle of the sun, whether the sun is even out, any clouds or shading. The answer is very easy if you are asking how much output will there be at night. The answer is of course zero. It probably makes more sense to talk about averages. In a place like Washington, D.C., SolarTown's home, where the peak sun hours per day is about 4.2 (kilowatt-hours per square meter per day), a 1 kW system (8 or 9 or your 120 watt panels) would produce about 1300 kilowatt hours per year, or roughly 3.56 kWh per day. You asked about a 120 watt panel. That panel will produce on average of about 425 watt hours per day; in the winter, the output will be less and in the summer, the output will be more.

12-28-2012 by todd Category: Solar Panels

Q:I am a layman and will need you to reply as if to a 5th grader. How many solar panels will it take to run an 1 hp 110 volt sweetwater blower?

A:

Using solar panels can be a great option to powering a wide range of tools and devices. What you want to start off with is to evaluate the electrical characteristics of the device. All devices, if the label is still present, will illustrate the energy requirements to operate the unit. Solar panels can be wired in series to achieve a targeted voltage or in parallel to achieve a specific current. You will need to buy a charge controller either PWM or MPPT and some batteries. If you buy a pump that is designed to work off DC, you can definitely generate cost savings. Many pumps whether SunRotor submersible solar water pump or Grundfos surface pumps offer that versatility. If the pump operates off AC then the initial cost may be a little higher because you will need an inverter but if you take into the account the long term cost of operating your 1hp pump that requires AC, gas, oil or any other energy source the solar option may work out in the long run. Feel free to contact SolarTown Customer Service for assistance in sizing your off-grid application.

12-17-2012 by Steph Category: Solar Panels

Q:I want to run my pool pump with a solar system. I want to run the pump continously. The pump is 328 watts / 15 amps / 115 volts how many panels / batteries do I need?

A:

It sounds like your current pool pump operates using AC power, which can be configured with solar panels, batteries, charge controller and inverter, but this arrangement will tend to be less efficient than a DC solar pool pump which can be found in our solar pool section. Without knowing the specifics of the pool pump, a pump requiring 328 watts per hour will require 7872 watts for a 24 hour period. I'm not sure this kind of application will be practical considering you will need about 32 solar panels and many more batteries to operate the pool pump for a 24 hour period. The operating cost for the AC pool pump is probably running in the neighborhood of $20 - $30 per month or $240 -$360 annually. With all things considered, visit the solar pool pump section of SolarTown and review the DC solar pool pumps. Solar Pool Pumps require less energy to operate and in this situation will be probably a better fit for your configuration. Solar pool pumps are also built to work with solar panels so the final number of modules will be substantially less depending upon your runtime.

12-07-2012 by George Category: Solar Water Pumps

Q:I just bought (2) 45 watt solar panels that requires a 300 watt power inverter. Since I want to use them together, do I need two 300 watt inverters or will one work?

A:

Solar panels for home solar energy systems or off grid solar energy systems require a solar inverter when you're looking to power an AC device or hardware. 45 watt solar panels are normally around 12 volts so if you have two wired in series or parallel a corresponding charge controller will be required. If the solar panels are wired in series, you can buy a Specialty Concepts, Xantrex, Morningstar or Flexcharge 24v charge controller. If the solar modules are wired in parallel then you can go with a 12V charge controller which you can find in the charge controller section of SolarTown. Just keep in mind the rated amps in a series or parallel wire configuration to ensure compliance with all the solar hardware and devices. Feel free to contact SolarTown Customer Service for further assistance.

12-06-2012 by Susann Category: Solar Electronics

Q:I'm looking for some help to design my battery bank for my home roof top setup. My plan is to have 200W X5 Panels = 1KW. To set this up, i need some clarifications and hope i would get it here.. Im planning to purchase a MMPT charge controller. For the battery bank, i intend to have 150Ah X 7 battery (12V each). Since the pannel is 24V panels, is it mandatory to have my battery bank in 24V setup or is it fine to have it remain with 12V. Leaving the battery bank at 12V will help me reduce the cost on investment for the batteries..Also help me suggest the Amp required to purchase the MPPT.

A:

Batteries used with home solar panels can be modified proportionately to setup either a 12V solar panel system, 24V system or any other voltage arrangement for the solar battery bank. For illustration purposes, a 12V battery bank with 100Ah is similar to a 24V battery bank with a 50Ah configuration. With that said though, wiring the higher system voltage can get a touch more complicated with the increased voltage similar to connecting solar panels but the higher voltage will improve overall efficiency. Also you will have to be mindful of secondary components like solar inverters and other devices you wish to connect to the off-grid solar energy system. MPPT Charge Controllers work well with different solar module configurations and only limited to the technical parameters of the charge controller. If you plan on buying a Outback Charge Controller or MidNite Solar Charge Controller, make sure you verify the electrical parameters of the unit before you purchase the controller.

11-13-2012 by Nick Category: Solar Panels